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Topic: Perry Common Redevelopment (Read 1830 times)

Has anyone been to Dovedale Rd near College Rd junction lately? It has been completely changed and the whole essence of it's past, and the surrounding roads has been lost. The new housing is all over the shop. Remember the song, 'Little Boxes'?

I recall the days when we played tracking in the old prefabs, it was like a little village there, it was a shame they knocked them down as there were all mostly well looked after with nice tidy gardens ( and apple trees for scrumping),Hurstwood Rd has long being rebuilt I know, but it was such an adventureous place for us as kids. It's strange that both places I spent my younger days have been almost eradicated, Nechells and Capilano/Dovedale Rd, Dovedale Rd is work in progress I guess. We used to play in the fields that led from Witton Lodge Rd right up to the New Oscott College in the 70's, now there are houses built there. The corn in the fields used to tower above us, it was like being lost in the jungle for us. It was a bit creepy as it led to the cemetery.

Even the old brook in Perry Common Park has being redirected, it used to have about 4 bridges for crossing, again with a little imagination these were the highest bridges in the world. Now there is just one near to the Perry Common Rd end. We used to follow the brook for miles also, and build dens along the embankments, which were at the back end of the aforementioned prefabs.

I would love to see any pictures of the prefabs in the Hurstwood Rd area from the 70's or before, or of the demolition.

There were lots of stories of ghosts from neighbours in the Capilano Rd / Dovedale Rd areas, people seeing things , feeling things. I wonder if this will continue on the newly built houses, or if anyone else remembers these stories. ( heading for a new thread here I think)

Had to just nip in and comment on this. I would also love a picture of Capilano Road. I have been trying for years to find any Banks family descendants who lived there. I am looking for a picture of my late father in law, Herbert (bert) Banks. Needle in a hay stack, I know, but who knows who pops up on this Forum ? So, here's hoping fantastic Phil has a picture of Capilano Rd, somewhere!

I recall that the Banks family lived opposite our house in the 60's and 70's, I remember Georgie Banks and some of his family, and Decca?. They lived on or near the corner of the Capilano Rd , 87? or thereabouts, had a dog called Buster I think.

I think the house number was either 79 0r 77 on reflection. In the third picture in between the two lamposts was where I think 79 & 77 were.The fourth picture shows the other half of Capilano Rd, the corner block on the right was / is 89, 91 Capilano Rd and 178 180 Witton Lodge Rd

I used to live in Abingdon Road from shortly before WW2 until 1946. Went to Hastings Road Infants and Hawthorn Road primary, and as children do often took a long way home via Dovedale or Capilano Roads after playing in the 'rec'.

It was not until I saw a newspaper article via Google that I found out that most of the houses around that area were made from concrete with steel frames, so called 'Boot' houses. They began to crack and become unsound by the 1990s, that is why they were demolished and the whole area rebuilt: